Montella 'very sorry' for Sevilla failure

The manager, who was sacked last week, has issued a rallying cry to the club's fans after he was sacked by the Spanish club

Vincenzo Montella has apologised for a string of poor results that led Sevilla to confirm his sacking on Saturday.

Montella took Sevilla to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after masterminding a shock win over Manchester United, only to see his side outclassed by Bayern Munich in the next round, the team's form subsequently collapsing.

Sevilla were thumped 5-0 in the Copa del Rey final by Barcelona and Friday's 2-1 loss at Levante that stretched their winless run to nine matches in all competitions proved the final straw.

Montella's departure is his second sacking of the season after he left AC Milan in November, the outgoing Italian issuing a rallying call to Sevilla, who are six points outside the top six.

"Thank you to the fans, who have been magnificent," Montella said in a statement posted on the Sevilla website.

"I want to salute the players, who have made a huge effort - so much of which has been for me. I also want to thank all the people who work for the club who I've not been able to say goodbye to.

"I'm very sorry for the last moments. I can say that I've worked with strength and enthusiasm until the end. I'm convinced the club can qualify for Europe and for that reason, I ask for the fans to be close to the players and to give them their upmost support.

"I want to thank everyone. The club, the chairman, the players and the fans. It's been a marvellous experience, we've made history and it's an honour to have been coach at the time.

"We've paid for all the effort made in the Champions League and Copa del Rey in LaLiga. Thank you everyone, for me it's been an experience I will never forget."

Montella's replacement is Joaquin Caparros, who led the club to promotion and European qualification in his previous spell as the club's coach.

"It's a great satisfaction to be here in my home," Caparros told a news conference on Sunday. "I'm very happy because Sevilla has remembered me.

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"I was wanting to come back. I always said: when the club needed me I'd be there. There's a fantastic squad with players of different levels. Many of them are internationals. We are going to give everything to achieve the objectives the club set at the beginning of the season.

"I've seen part of the training village of a club that has grown thanks to all the titles it's won. It's a very big club on an international level. It's become that through its management and through the structures the club has."